Thursday, November 8, 2012

Lots To Do Before Heading Out

We finally made a decision and we won't be flying to Kansas City. Too many things to do here at home and some business to take care of in Guadalajara over the holiday. We have decided to go to McAllen to pick up the rv, have some minor things done to it and head back here to the house. Kevin has some things we said we would pick up for them and that goes for anyone else who is going to be in Hacienda Contreras in December. The only thing that would change is that we leave even earlier. After seeing Kevin and Ruth head out across the mountains I got the itch pretty bad. (We may take the ride on Sunday heading to Saltillo for brunch and take the highway from there through Monterrey, I am convinced we can rv up there and just need to find out for ourselves).

We made the leap and we ordered a solar panel. Our first and we are very excited about it. Our Honda generator has served us well and will continue to do so. I wouldn't be without it. We have lived well on our two Trojan batteries and they seem to get charged pretty good while we are driving down the road. However, we have to be very conservative and we would like a little more freedom and a lot less generator.

Jinko Solar JKM235P-60 235 Watt 24 Volt Solar Panel

I know for most of you it is no big deal, but we just think now of how much more boondocking we can do and the extra power we will have bringing us more freedom. In the Spring we can add two more batteries to our system and that will be a good thing. We are just not sure about how we want to mount the panel. I know having a portable is a PIA, but I want to try it first before mounting. I wouldn't want to sit in the sun and bake so we can have power. I have seen one setup where the tow vehicle had the panel mounted on top allowing the travel trailer to sit in the shade.

A couple of bills to pay, reports to turn in so I can get paid, see the dermotologo and the dentista for a cleaning, some maintenance to the SUV. Tires are good, and it had a recent tune up. I want to pick up some hoses and belts just in case. We use to carry them with the Pathfinder although we never had an incident. I think it is one of those CYA situations. We found that to be true this summer when we blew a tire on the trailer. We had everything at hand; compressor, good tire iron, inflated spare, wood supports and a good jack. Took us all of ten minutes to get back on the road.

About Me

I left the U.S. 30 years ago. Found my way to Mexico and in the last 15 years the great life of rving and boondocking. I have had the great opportunity to travel throughout the Americas, learn Spanish and meet lots of great people.